For more information, please contact: LisaWenger
at lwenger@sau21.org.

The students are asked to create a three-fold (six panel
front and back) brochure to explain the three Semitic religions.They use the Publisher software
program.Students use their class
notes to extract the essential information.The rubric that they are given requires them to create a cover with a
title and their name.The three
interior panels share 10 facts about each of the three Semitic religions:
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.The
last two panels are reserved for a comparison chart and a current event.The students print them in color and share
them with their parents.They are a
strong assessment tool to share the accumulated knowledge that they have
garnered over the course of the in the unit.Writing and literacy skills are essential aspects of the process as
well as critical thinking and analysis.

Funding: This project was supported by $0 from and $0
in local funds. The project illustrates how federal funding supports “Technology literacy for all students - Implementing
systemic changes through robust curriculum integration with technology
(includes student work with digital tools, distance learning courses, etc.).”
The project addressed the following grades and content areas:

Gr6-8EngLangArtsSocSt

The
Setting:
HamptonAcademy in
a small suburban/seacoast community middle school.We enjoy a reasonably up to date computer
lab and two mobile labs with lap tops for a classroom of 25.Funding for school programs is limited to
local property taxes and some state funding.Local community commitment to technology is fairly strong.Economic factors do adversely impact us as
tourism and small business can fluctuate with economic trends.

The plot: My colleague and I both teach the grade 7
curriculum.We each have four classes,
and they meet at the same time.We
therefore need to meet to decide and sign-up for use of the computer lab or
the mobile labs.This is not easy to coordinate
as the building houses many teachers who regularly utilize each for their
classes.Each classroom contains five
PCs for students to use in the classroom.So in the event that the mobile labs and computer lab are occupied, we
must ask our students to sign-out and use available classroom based
computers.This presents various
supervision and management challenges.Students are not allowed to use any computers where there is no adult
supervision.Computer access for all
students – is the biggest challenge.

The teachers: 2
teachers were directly involved. Two social
studies teachers on two different teams- support para-professionals, and the
computer teacher.

The
students: 150 7th grade
Social Studies students were involved in this lesson.Students needed to work independently
as they researched and wrote the 1st drafts of their Semitic religions
brochure.They worked with partners in
the proof-reading and editing process. They form of writing was informative
and this required that they shared enough background knowledge and vocabulary
to communicate affectively with an uninformed reader.Once the brochure were completed and
printed – they were shared with others in the class and their parents.

The
data:
Students pass-in their B/W copies for grading
purpose along with their own self –assessment /rubric form.Once the graded and corrected B/W copy is
returned to students they then correct any errors and print out a final copy
in color for sharing with the class, their parents and their portfolio.

The difference: Students
whom formerly had no religious training, or who possessed social biases
/stereotypes about religions found themselves liberated by realizing their
affiliations and or connections to the three Semitic or other religious
traditions.Students often share how
much they like this unit quietly and privately with us- because they had no
previous understanding about religions/ history of the Semitic region/the
middle east.This is one of the early
formal writing projects they have in the school year – so the process really
helps them pull together their acquired skills, and build on them.Parents comment to us during parent conferences and
notes they send in after reading the brochures – that they learned facts
about the three Semitic religions that they were previously unaware of, and
that they are impressed with their child’s ability to write, design and
publish the three fold brochure on the computer.Most share that they wish that they had
this understanding themselves in their youth as it would have changed their
“world view”.

Essential
conditions: Availability of quality
computer technology, software, and technical support for instruction and
access.

Changes
for the future: I wish that I
had a set of class based laptops and or student owned and linked
laptops.This way this project could
continue and expand throughout the year in numerous other units and
integrated curricula opportunities in other subject areas.We use nicenet.com to allow students to
access their saved work from school at home in order to continue their
work.The availability of computers at
home is not universal for all of our students.This presents an inherent mandate to
provide them with alternative resources during the school day and in local
libraries.School assigned laptops
distributed on loan when children enter and upgraded as they age- for a
nominal fee per month (similar to the musical instrument rental programs) and
the option to purchase at graduation would improve computer tech skills and
writing and executive skills.I like
the way we currently handle grading.Perhaps the brochures could be saved on-line to a teacher folder and
viewed at a school web site.This
would save on paper and ink.But
personally the students benefit from the publishing process and the inherent
pride of purpose that it gives.

Recommendations: Invest in maintaining and upgrading your technology
to keep students challenged and competitive in the field and real world
applications.Support technology
initiatives in the community.Find out
about grants and local companies who are willing to invest to improve the
local skills that will be available for their employment pool.What communities give they reap tenfold.

Telling
our story: We (my colleague and I)have shared the project with curriculum
coordinators and administrators and colleagues during various staff meetings